scroggs



March 8, 1932. R. B. SCROGGS CONSTRUCTION FOR AEROPLANES Filed July 1, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 F0] Savoy gs INVENTOR March 8, 1932. R. B. SCROGGS CONSTRUCTION FOR AEROPLANES Filed July 1. 1930 3 Sheets5heet 2 R Z3 50 royys INVENTOR March 8, 1932. R. B. SCROGGS 1,848,578

CONSTRUCTION FOR AEROPLANES Filed July 1, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 8, 1932 ROY B. SCROGGS, F EUGENE, OREGON CONSTRUCTION FOR AEROPLANES Application filed July 1, 1930. Serial No. 465,134.

My invention relates to aeroplanes and especially to the heavier than air planes. The invention in its preferred embodiment consists of a body element, whose cross sectional area throughout its. transverse cross sectional area, is-four sided, to produce side areas on the two lower surfaces that are each substantially equal to the length of the wing spread outwardly extending from the sides of the body element. The cross sectional area of the body or fuselage, increase in area from that portion immediately in the rear of the propellers and reaches its maximum immediately adjacent the front of the lifting and steering vanes.

A propeller of the conventional design is used, also the power plant and the steering elements and controls are similar to those now in use.

I have observed in actual experiments with models and with a full sized machine embodying my new and improved designs that the actual lifting is afforded through the shape, primarily of the fuselage and that the wings are used primarily as stabilizers and controls more than forlifting purposes. This enables me to greatly reduce the wing spread, and therefore permits a much lighter Construction in the wing and body elements. In shipsembodying my new and improved construction, side slips are eliminated, and tail spins cannot occur.

A much longer stream line effect can be produced and the landing and take off speeds 35 are greatly reduced.

The propeller blast greatly aids in the take ofi as the same strikes the tapering side walls of the under side of the fuselage and due to the outwardlysloping side walls of the same produces a beneficial lifting effect in the take off that permits the ship toleave the ground at a much lower speed than is possible through the present construction and design than is in common use, and to lift greater loads in the take off.

The wing spread also increases in proportion as the cross sectional area of the fuselage increases, reaching its greatest spread at the stern of the ship and having its least 59 spread at'the forward end.

The primary purpose of the new and improved design is to provide a heavier than air ship that will have a maximum stability.

A further object of my new and improved design is to provide a construction that adapts itself to light weight construction.

Still further objects of my new and improved design consists in providing a heavier than air ship that may be maneuvered within a limited area, and one that may be safely 0o handled by relatively inexperienced pilots.

Still further objects of my new and improved construction resides in the fact that relatively broad surfaces are exposed to the port and starboard sides of the ships to there- 65 by prevent side slips occurring in the maneuvering of the ship. The ship having its least cross sectional area at the forward end of the fuselage and tapering rearwardly presents a minimum of air resistance in the forward propelling of the ship.

I am aware that the approved design at the present time contemplates and embodies a ship construction in which a relatively wide wing spread is embodied and that the lifting and speed qualities are almost entirely dependent upon this one thing. In my new and improved construction the lifting, speed, and stability are almost entirely dependent upon the depth and slope of the bottom side walls of the fuselage. The increasing of the side wall areas are the controlling factors, for speed and lifting qualities. The fuselage thus constructed provides ample storage space for pay load and for passengers and at the same time eliminates the width of the wing spread to gain great advantage in limiting the area within which the ship may be successfully maneuvered and landed. This is of major importance in ships for military purposes that use a mother ship for landing and storage, as a much greater number of ships may be hovered within the limited space that is provided for the caring of ships for this military purpose. The same may he landed upon the deck of the mother ship with greater facility and with greater safety.

In the normal position of repose and of flight of my ship the cross sectional area of the fuselage reaches its maximum depth in a the invention consists in certain novelfeas tures of construction and combination of parts, the essential elements of which areset forth in the appended claims and a preferred form of embodiment of which is hereinafter described'in reference to the drawings which accompany and form tion.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side view of the assembled device.

Fig; 2 is a sectional end view of the assembled device, the same being taken on line 22 of Fig. llooking-in't-he direction lllldi'? cated.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the assembled device, the same being taken at the stern, looking forward;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view ofthe assembled device.

Fig; 5 is a sectional end view, of the assembled device, the same being taken on line 5'5 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated Fig. 6 is a sectional, top, plan view of the assembled device, the same being taken on line 66of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, .top plan view of the rudder and control mechanism, the same beingjt'aken' on line 7f7 of Fig. 1 lookingin the direction indicated.

Fig. 8 is'a side view of the control stick and wheel adapted for hand manipulation of the assembly. I

' Like reference characters referto like parts throughoutthe several views.

1' preferably form the longitudinal side rail members 1 and 2 of high quality metal tubing that is adapted for standing heavy strains and that is relatively strong for the a part of this specificaweight. of the metal. The lfeelson f and the ridge 3 are also'made of single pieces and of high grade metal. The four longitudinal members being secured together with ribs latticedtogether to form an integral construction of great strength and rigidity.

V 'The outer surfaces of the assembly being coveredwith afabric or metal sheath, depending upon the service and. use to which the shipis to be applied. The metal covering being somewhat heavier but affording greater strength. l/Vhere metal is used some of the bers 1 and 2 that forms the same.

Vertical members 5 connect the keelsonwith the ridge pole and these vertical lines represent the maximum cross sectional area of the fuselage. A horizontal fastening 6 connects the rails and the longitudinal mem- This construction forms four triangular compart- ,mentsswithin the fuselage as illustrated at 7,

8, 9 and 10. The wing struts are formed of the underwing members 11 and 12 that are preferably placed substantially in line with the horizontal'member 6.

The cross sectional area of; the fuselage, increases rearwardly from the nose of the I have foundbest results are; also obtained when. the lower portion of'the fuselage is divided into two right triangles of equal area with a common sideformed of aportion of the verticalxmembers 5. Since these right trianglesare equal in area,.it is obvious that the lower portion of the fuselagewhich is composed of compartments 7 and 8 has the-cross section of an equilateral triangle; and when the upper portion of the fuselage is divided into two isosceles triangles. having the remaining portion of the. vertical members 5 asa common side. Since these right triangles are equal in area, it isobvious that the upper portion of the fuselage which is composed of compartments 9 andlO hasthe cross section of anisosceles triangle. The cross sectional area of thelower isosceles triangle is greater than the cross sectional area of the that is required to form the air cushionfor landing that is needed and the wings are required, primarily, to afford stability to the structure when the same is .beingmaneuvered.

I have observed that splendid results may be obtained when thelength of the upper rib structure disposed within'the fuselage are two thirds of the length of the lower ribs, at the same location, within the ship structure.

' nal members 1 and 2.

This produces a total area of the upper and lower side walls of the ratio of 6 to 4. The upper wing engaging the upper side wall further reduces this total proportionate area and therefore the constant of 6 to 4 cannot be maintained for that reason, when the outer surfaces only are considered.

The side struts, two in number that are disposed at each side of the fuselage are preferably secured at the top to the side longitudi- The primary struts 17 are secured to the side walls and the keelson member in any satisfactory manner to give strength and stability to the structure. The wheels 18 are secured to axles that are disposed within suitable supports that outwardly extend from the lower ends of the strut members.

A trunnion wheel 19 is disposed upon an axle, that is disposed within a yoke 20. The yoke 20 has a king bolt 21 that upwardly extends from the yoke and is journaled within a suitable housing that is disposed at the stern of the keelson structures.

Elevator fins 22 are disposed at the stern of the ship. A stick control 23 has a ball 24 disposed upon its lower end and a socket 25 is adapted to journal and position the same. A cross bar 26 is fixedly disposed upon the stick and is substantially spaced above the lower end of the stick. As a forward or rearwardly movement is imparted to the stick, the control rods 27 and 28 are placed in com pression, or in tension, and this movement of the stick is reflected in the movement that is imparted to the elevators. A wheel 29 is disposed at the upper end of the stick, the purpose of the wheel being to rotate the stick, and as the stick and the wheel are partially rotated, the cross bar 26 is also partially rotated, and one of the rods 27 is tensioned, and the other of the rods is placed under compression to move the elevator fins in opposite directions to afi'ord'a maneuvering action to the entire structure when the same is in flight.

A foot control bar 30 is disposed at a convenient location to that of the stick and is adaped for foot manipulation. Control lines 31 and 32 run therefrom to the rudders 33 for imparting a thwartship movement to the ship.

The rear of the fuselage is encased by a stern structure as illustrated at 34 and 35 to produce a fuselage that is entirely encased in I at the rear of the same.

The propeller wheel is shown at 36 and is driven by any suitable prime mover of the conventional design. I have observed that less power is required to produce given results by the form of construction of fuselage and wing structure than is required for the ships of conventional design and that a much lighter ship may be constructed by my method than has heretofore been obtained when Capacity is to be considered.

This form of fuselage construction also gives a maximum of cabin space that may be evenly distributed for the full length of the fuselage. The side walls of the fuselage may be made of transparent material to give the pilots and the passengers a maximum visibility and power of observation.

The adjacent side walls of the top and bottom sides of the ship being equal in area no unequal pressures are met with in the normal operation of the ship, and when the ship is being driven in normal flight, great ease of control is accomplished through this construction.

The greater areas being disposed at the stern of the ship produces a construction that has a tendency to prevent accidents and that will land a ship into the wind when the power is cut off much the same as a weather vane, always heads into the wind.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the one form of embodiment herein shown and described, as it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fuselage, the lower section of which is formed of two triangular compartments of equal area and the total area of both forming an isosceles triangle, wings outwardly extending from the top chord of said isosceles triangle, the width of each wing being equal, and each wing being equal to the top chord of the isosceles triangle.

In a device of the class described, the combination of a fuselage comprised of longitudinal members two of which form the side rails, the bottom of which forms the keelson and the top one forming the ridge pole, the cross sectional area of the fuselage uniformly increasing in cross sectional area from the forward end to the stern, the ribs forming the bottom side walls and the horizontal transverse line connecting the two rail members being substantially equal in length, and the upper ribs connecting the side rails and the ridge pole each being equal in length being substantially two thirds of the lengths of the ribs connecting the keelson with the side rail members, at the same point.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a heavier than air airship, a fuselage, the cross section of which is four sided, the greatest diameter of the structure thus formed being substantially equal to the vertical line connecting the meeting points of the top and bottom sides, and wings outwardly extending from the sides, the bottom sides of which are in line with a horizontal line passing through the remaining meeting points of the top and bottom sides, each of iii) said Wings being equal in width with'each other and with the said horizontal line,

4 In a; devi'ce'of the class described, the combination of a fuselage, the Verticalcross sectional area of which uniformly increases from the forward'end to the stern, cent top and bottom sides of the Vertical cross section being equal, the bottom sides being longer than the top sides, wings outwardly extending from the sides, the bottom sides of which are in line With a horizontal'lin'e passing throughthe meeting points oithe top and bottom sides and being substantially equal in length to the line that connects the points at which the top and bottom lines meet that form the fuselage;

In a device of the class described, the combination of a; fuselage, the Vertical cross sectional area of which uniformly increase from the forward end to the stern, the sides of the vertical cross section being parallel at opposite sides, the bottom than the top sides, wingsoutwardly extending from the sides, the bottom sides ofwhich are in line with a horizontal line passing through the meeting points of the top and bottom sides and being substantially equal in length to the line that connects the points at which the top and bottom lines meet that forms the fuselage; 7 ROY B; SCROGGS.

the adj a-c sides being longer 

